It’s been great relaunching Burger Month this year but, sadly, Burger Month only can last for, well, a month. I decided to do this again in part to help smaller burger franchises as they’re the ones who definitely need the most help after the dumpster fire that is 2021. I wanted to shine a spotlight on some a couple of the lesser known eateries out there and, at the same time, support them in my own way by actually spending my hard earned money at these places. However, I also did this as an excuse to try out restaurants that did sell burgers but I wouldn’t regularly visit.

For my final entry for Burger Month 2021, I made the conscious decision to try going to a place called Everything But Cheese. It’s a rather small chain restaurant that does have locations all around the Philippines but has never really reached the same mass appeal of the global mass market. They opened up a new branch very close to my place and, while I did have plans to visit the place before, we had to contend with another lockdown so I never really got to visit it until now.

Everything But Cheese, or EBC for short, doesn’t really specialize in burgers. Contrary to the name, EBC’s main thing is cheese fondue and adding cheese to everything on their menu. They even have baked riced with cheese so, yes. Even the rice meals has to have cheese. But they do serve a couple of beef burgers. Technically, they’re cheeseburgers, of course. One of them is a “plain” cheeseburger. The other option has bacon and mushrooms on it. So, of course I got EBC’s Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger as it’s the more “special” one. I also got it with a side order of fries, per usual.

I do have to give a quick mention about the location, which is along Boni Avenue. As you can see from the picture, it’s not a huge space. By my estimate, it can only hold around ten people max. Cut that down to around four at the moment, thanks to social distancing practices. It’s a very quaint place, actually. But it’s definitely more suited for take-out orders because of how tiny the place is.

I will commend EBC for how quick I did get my Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger as it was pretty quick. Normally, that would arouse my suspicions because it might mean things are precooked and then reheated when they receive an order. I can’t really say if this is the case with EBC but I wouldn’t be surprised. Also, even though I did decide to eat in the actual location, the food still comes in your standard take-out container. Maybe this is the practice for now because of the social distancing protocols or maybe this is just how the branch serves their products regularly. Whatever the case, I found this kind of disappointing as the pictures on the menu shows the foods on actual plates.

I don’t know why I was shocked to see EBC slather the Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger with a terrifying amount of cheese sauce in their burger. I mean, I should have expected it since that’s kind of their thing. But when you see a copious amount of melted cheese spilling off the sides of the burger, you know that’s a lot of cheese! And just in case what you got wasn’t enough, the burger also comes with a small tub of cheese on the side! Granted, it’s mainly for the side of fries but you can’t say they scrimp on the cheese at Everything But Cheese!

I will admit, however, EBC’s Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger looked much better than I expected. The burger patty and the actual burger itself was substantial in its size. My best guess it’s a smidge smaller than a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder so it’s a pretty hefty sandwich.

Of course, size and appearance doesn’t matter a whole lot if it doesn’t taste good and, thankfully, EBC’s Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger is good… but in its own way. The burger patty isn’t all that tasty as it doesn’t have a lot of fat in the beef. Which is where the melted cheese comes it as it does mitigate the lack of fat in the beef patty itself. The amount of cheese can be overwhelming at times but the beef does come through somewhat. The bacon was crisp enough but kind of cheap tasting. The mushrooms weren’t all that special as they were your plain ol’ canned button mushrooms.

The most disappointing thing about the Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger of EBC would be the burger bun. I don’t have any issues that it’s not a fancy burger bun. My issue with it is how they don’t do anything with it. The one that I got at least wasn’t even toasted or anything. This results in a very plain, bread-y texture. It’s not bad and is a nitpick in the grand scheme of things. But I kind of wish they put a little more attention to detail of the burger bun’s preparation.

The fries themselves, while generally plain, actually tasted great. They had a good, crispy outer layer as well as a soft interior. What’s more impressive is how they didn’t just cover it with salt. In fact, even though I didn’t taste any salt in the fries, they still tasted really good. They could be eaten by themselves, even without the cheese dipping sauce. Then again, I was kinda all cheesed out by the time I was polishing off the fries anyway.

I’m not the biggest cheese lover so I’m technically not the target audience of Everything But Cheese. However, I did enjoy their Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger for what it was. It wasn’t the best burger I ever had nor would I put it in the upper echelons of burgers. But I still think it was really good. Much better than I would’ve expected. It’s more akin to your favorite brand of instant cup noodles. You know a freshly made bowl of noodles at a high-end restaurant is going to be better but there’s just something so satisfying about that bowl of instant ramen because it has that certain taste you still crave for. Like that cup of instant noodles, there’s just something comforting about EBC’s Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger and is a fantastic way to close out this year’s Burger Month: with a satisfying smile.

Have you tried Everything But Cheese’s Bacon and Mushroom Cheeseburger? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!